A Peek Into My Garden

Do-Something-Everyday, June 3, 2016

It is a grey day here but the late spring flowering season is on track. Here is mountain laurel showing its many pretty pink faces.

Have a great weekend!

U is for Unfurl

Do-Something-Everyday, May 31, 2016

For this week's ABC-Wednesday-18-U, I am choosing the word UNFURL. Yesterday was Memorial Day. Flags were unfurled in many places. As it happens, I watched the peonies in my garden unfurling their petals too.  It was quiet lovely to behold. It inspired me to capture it with paint (above) and on camera (below).

Morning Cup

Do-Something-Everyday, May 30, 2016

Actual cup of tea and an imagined cup of tea. Both satisfy differently.

Linked to Our Beautiful World.

It rained last night and the top heavy peony flopped over. So, I cut it and brought it inside. 

Linked to Image-in-ing

Have A Great Weekend!

Th

Do-Something-Everyday, May 27, 2016

Memorial Day is the start of the summer season here in the U.S. even though officially summer is still three weeks away. With the daily temps hitting 94 degrees, it is beginning to feel like summer. The trees are throwing interesting shadows on the lawn and the birds are swinging about chirping and cooing. All in all, a happy summer day.

Have a great weekend!

Natural Model for Artists

Do-Something-Everyday, May 26, 2016

I am beginning to realize that with warm weather approaching, the art I am doing now seem all inspired by nature. This morning I was wondering what do I paint today? Then I saw this glorious fern on my front yard and realized that nature is best model for an artist, one that never stops giving. As I started painting this single frond of leaves, I could not but admire the perfect symmetry of the leaves. Something I had not noticed before. One can capture on paper only a pale imitation of it, don't you think?

Thanks for visiting. Linked to Paint Party Friday. Thanks to Kristin and Eva for hosting.

How To Make a Cigar Box Planter: Step by Step Instructions

Do-Something-Everyday, May 25,  2016

This is the last of a series of posts called Succulent Love. These are posts showcasing my succulents collection  in interesting planters along with small paintings of succulents that I did. You can find previous posts here, here, and here. The one below is planted in a cigar box with a painting of the plant on the inside lid. 

Cigar boxes are one of my favorite planters for succulents. I use them in their natural state which gives a rustic look to the arrangement. Creating a planter out of a cigar box is not at all complicated. The materials needed are easily available and the time it takes to do is no more than 30 minutes. Here is how to do it:

A. What you need:

1. An empty cigar box ( you can buy one for five dollars or less from a cigar shop)

2. A fairly large size succulent (appropriate to the size of the box)

3. Small pebbles for layering

4. Potting soil

5. Plastic liner ( I used a grocery bag)

6. Moss (Spanish or sphagnum)

B. Instructions:

1. Line the box with a a small plastic grocery bag and add an inch of pebble rocks over the liner. The liner will protect the box from the moisture from the soil. The rocks provide drainage.

 2. Add a layer of potting soil and plant the succulent in the soil. Make sure there is enough soil to cover the roots around the plant and on top. 

 3. Trim the plastic liner around the edges and add a layer of moss on top ( I used Spanish).

4. This step is optional. I added feet to the box so that it will not sit flat on the ground. I used small wood round disks (available in the wood craft section of any craft store) and attached one to each bottom corner using wood glue. Because I can, I painted  a succulent on the inside lid.

Thanks for visiting.

Gone Fishin'

Do-Something-Everyday, May 24, 2016

Cut- Paper-Art

I did this cut paper art on a black paper from an original sketch I did a few weeks ago. I layered it first on a printed paper to color the lily pads green. Then I layered it on a blue paper for both water and the sky. Then I cut out the text and layered it on white paper.  Below are some detailed shots.

I planted these irises almost twenty years ago. They still come up every year!

Thanks for visiting.

Linked to image-in-ing
Linked to moomania water challenge.